Southern California -- this just in

Making L.A. better for bicyclists: what should the city do?

March 1, 2011 | 9:52
am

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday is expected to approve an ambitious bicycle master plan that would add bike lanes to major arteries and call for 200 miles of new bicycle routes every five years.

The plan, reported in The Times by Kate Linthicum, lays out a long-term goal of 1,680 miles of interconnected bikeways. Figueroa Street, Wilshire Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard would all get bike lanes in the near future.

The plan won the support of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who became an advocate for the city's bicycling community after a turning taxicab jolted him off his bike. He convened a bicycle summit, launched a safety campaign and supported the city's first CicLAvia, which closed 7.5 miles of city streets to traffic for most of the day.

What do you think of the city's bike plan? Should the council approve it? Do you have any recommendations to make Los Angeles more bike-friendly? Tell us your thoughts below.